As a method for producing alcohols, methods of catalytic hydrogenation of carboxylic acid esters have been commonly known and widely employed in industry. Another approaches for producing alcohols from free carboxylic acids by catalytic hydrogenation have also been attempted. For example, JP-A61-5036 discloses a method for producing an alcohol in the presence of a Co catalyst containing a metal selected from Al, Zr, Mo and Y and a metal selected from Cu, Pt and Pd. JP-A48-62708 discloses a method for producing an alcohol in the presence of a Co catalyst containing composite Fe, Zn, or P.